Derby boys stun Central in 2OT

Bob Davidson @rjdshocker77

Wednesday

Feb 7, 2018 at 12:01 AM

Derby’s only hope was a perfectly executed play and last-second shot that would somehow go in.

The Panthers got both as Brian Mocaby hit a 3-pointer from the top of the circle at the buzzer, giving Derby a stunning 63-62 double-overtime victory over Salina Central in an Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League I game Tuesday night at Central High School.

The improbable ending came 2.3 seconds after Harper Williams’ reverse layup gave Central a 62-61 lead.

Following a time out, Derby’s Tre Washington threw the inbounds pass to Tyler Brown, who caught the ball and heaved it across mid-court. Mocaby caught the pass, turned and launched a shot that fell through as the horn sounded, sparking a wild Panther celebration.

“They had the baseline to run and we tried to (guard) on the ball to make it tougher,” Central coach Doug Finch said. “But when you’re not stationary it’s hard to go with somebody. The kid made a play.”

Tied 50-50, Central (11-5, 4-4 league) missed two shots in the waning second at the end of regulation. Derby reciprocated by missing three shots in the final 10 seconds of the first overtime — two by Mocaby — leaving it tied at 57.

Derby’s Jacob Karsak made one of two free throws with 2:47 left, tying the game 60-60 in the second OT. Central held the ball for a final shot, Williams taking it down the left side of the lane, crossing under the basket and laying it off the glass for a 62-60 lead.

Derby, though, had a shocking answer.

“I tell these kids all the time if they hit jump shots it’s on me and if they hit layups it’s on them,” Finch said. “The kid hit a jump shot, so I should have done a better job in preparation for that last play.”

A 10-0 Central run gave the Mustangs a 47-38 lead with 3:33 left in regulation, but Derby quickly tied with a 9-0 rally in the next two minutes.

Finch was pleased with his team’s effort despite the loss.

“They did everything I asked them to do the entire night,” he said. “They took charges, they were rebounding, they were hitting shots. We knew it was going to be a very difficult game.

“I’m really proud of them. I’ve never this proud of a loss in my life. It was a great game for my guys.”

Mocaby, a 6-foot-5 senior, led Derby (11-4, 7-1 league) with 18 points while Brown had 16.

Williams was Central’s leading scorer with 15 points, including all five of the Mustangs’ points in the second extra period. “Harper made a tremendous play getting to the rim, but you’ve got to give Derby credit, they came back and made a play,” Finch said.

Derby opened the second half with a 14-0 run and fended off Central’s comeback attempts.

The Mustangs (12-4, 5-3 AVCTL) trailed 23-22 late in the second quarter, but Derby scored the last basket of the half for a 25-22 lead and continued the run to start the second half.

“They turned up the pressure a little bit,” Central coach Chris Fear said. “Really for the only time we got sped up. We jumped in the air to pass and they were in the passing lanes, they got a couple of easy (baskets) and started to feel good about things. And we got rattled.”

The Panthers (14-1, 8-0) led 39-22 after their third-quarter burst, but Central wasn’t done.

Myah Ward’s fourth 3-pointer of the game with 2:21 left in the game cut Central’s deficit to 51-45. Derby kept it close by missing 5 of 7 free throws the final 1:19, but the Mustangs couldn’t capitalize until Ward made three free throw with 0.6 seconds left for the final points.

“To our credit we absolutely pulled it back together and continued to fight on,” Fear said. “Against a great team like that you really can’t have those stretches, no matter how short they are. You’ve got to be really solid for all 32 minutes and we didn’t quite get that done.”

Elisa Backes led Central with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Her performance was particularly impressive considering she sat out the last 4:15 of the second quarter after picking up her third foul, then got her fourth foul with 7:32 left in the third quarter.

“We had to take her off the floor certainly longer than we wanted to,” Fear said. “She couldn’t be quite as aggressive with four fouls. I would have loved to let her play free and easy and see how that would have gone.”

Ward added 15 points that included 4 of 7 shooting beyond the arc.

Fear saw plenty of positives in the setback.

“We have played really well in 2018 and I thought we did tonight as well,” he said. “We had some different people step up, like we’ve been doing. We can build on this performance just like we have in the games we’ve won in January and February.”